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Listen to Papuans, residents say, as govt pushes for security buildup
Representatives from Dogiyai regency, Papua, were in Jakarta this week to express their opposition to tightened security in the regency after a protest on May 22 turned violent.
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People in Dogiyai regency, Papua, rally against racism on Aug. 26, 2019. Representatives from the regency were in Jakarta this week to express their opposition to tightened security in the area after a protest on May 22 turned violent. (Handout/-)
T
he government has come under increased pressure to involve indigenous Papuans in the policy-making processes that affect them and to accommodate their will as the state pushes to redistrict the resource-rich region and augment its security presence there.
Over the past weeks, representatives from Papua have been meeting with government agencies, human rights groups and other stakeholders to voice their concerns over new policies and demand the resolution of human rights cases.
Most recently, representatives of Dogiyai regency, Papua, met with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and Amnesty International Indonesia to protest a plan to deploy more security personnel to the region.
Security forces were sent in to Dogiyai after at least 18 buildings were burnt down during a protest that turned violent last week. Authorities claimed that “unknown perpetrators” had failed to burn down a market and had instead started razing people’s houses, prompting hundreds of residents to flee to the nearest police and military posts. The motive for the arson remains unclear.
Since then, the government has gone ahead with plans to establish a new police precinct (Polres) and a district military command (Kodim) in the area, which residents say is not a priority as the region has a generally low crime rate.
Read also: TNI tries softer approach to Papua, but doubts remain
Komnas HAM plans to summon the Papua Police for questioning over fears that the deployment of more security forces could exacerbate conflict in the area.
